Pressure-foot attachment for clamps



June 23, 1925.

. R. W. BURNS PRESSURE FOOTATTACHMENT FOR CLAMPS nul] Filed March 24. 1923 ATTORNEYS.

Patented `lune 23, 1925.

1 UNITED STATES 1,543,419 Vlerx'rstrr OFFICE.

RAYMOND W. BURNS, OF POUGHKEEPSIE, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO JAMES' L. TAYLOR MFG. CO., A CORPORATION OF NEW VYORK.

PRESSURE-roer ATTACHMENT non oLAMrs.

Application led March 24, 1923.

To all whom t may concern.:

Be it known that I, RAYMOND IV. BURNs, a'citizen of the United States, and a resident of Poughkeepsie, in the county of Dutchess and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Pressure-Foot Attachments for Clamps, of which thev fol-- lowing is a speciiication.

In clamps which are used for clamping up glued work such as backs of school seats and the like, whether flat or curved, a pressure foot is commonly used to conform tothe contour of the work and hold it against bulging or springing upward as it is clamped at its opposite edges in gluing together the pieces of which it is made, said pressure foot being commonly carried 'on a rod mounted on the body of the clamp, usually over the work. The present invention relates to such a pressure foot, and more particularly to the means for supporting it on such a rod or carrier.

rIhe objects of the invention are to secure an improved construction of adjustable support so that the pressure foot can be adjusted toward or away from said rod or other support to accommodate different thicknesses or Vheights of work; to secure such adjustability without the necessity of separating the'diferent parts of the device in adjusting it; to thus avoid detachable parts which may be mislaid and lost; to secure a simple and easily operated construction which shall be strong and not liable to get out of order; to secure minimum displacement of the pressure foot longitudinally of its support by reason of its adjustment toward or away from the same, and to obtain other results and advantages as may be brought out by the following description. v

`Referring to the accompanying drawings,

Yin whichl the same ycharacters of reference designate corresponding and like parts,

Figure l is a side elevation of a pressure foot attachment embodying my invention, showing' thesame in connection with a known type of clamp and in idle position;

Y Figure 2 is an enlarged vertical longitudinal sectional view through vthe pressure foot attachment showing the same in operative position, and

Figure 3 isa transverse vertical sectional view taken on the line 3-3 Aof Figure 2.

For the purpose of illustrating the principles of the invention, I have shown the pres- Selial N'o. 627,270.

sure foot P in connection with a well-known type of clamp used on clamp machines and including a body portion A having secured at one end a spannerfoct or base B which is provided transversely of the body A. with forked ends C and E to receive two cross rods D, D, of a clamp machine. The other end of the body portion A has secured thereto a fixed jaw F to cooperate with an adjustable jaw G slidable on the body portion and moved into and out of clamping position by means of well-known mechanism including a screw and a handledV nut H. In such a clamp the pressure foot is usually carried byv a rod I pivotally mounted in the base B, as at K, and normally swung into inoperative position away from the work by means of a spring L, said rod I being held in operative position toforce the pressure foot against'the work by means of a hook M pivotally mounted on the' fixed aw F.

rIhe pressure foot P is preferably channel-shaped and provided with longitudinal side flanges l which project at substantially right angles from the base 2 and have a pin 3 passing therethrough at substantially the central point in the length thereof.v The said pin is loosely mounted in a. slot 4f in a depending arm 5 of a supporting member 6 which is shown in the present instance in the form of a tubular slide mounted to move longitudinally of the rod I. and held in a'djusted position thereon by means of a set screw 7. The slot 4i is provided at its upper side with a plurality of notchesor seats 8 to receive the pin 3, said seats being disposed at different distances from the rod I. Y

IV hen clamping a piece of work, the rod I is swung downwardly and hooked under the hook M with the pin 3 of the pressure foot 'attachnientfarranged in one of the seats 8, whereby the pressure foot P is forced against t-he top of the work WV on the clamp body A, as shown in Figure 2, and prevents the work from lbulging upwardly as it is clamped between the jaws F and Gr. The particular one of the recesses 8 in which the pin 3 is inserted is determined by the thickness ofthe work on the clamp, the pin being placed in one end recess when the work is of minimum thickness, as shown by dot and dash lines in Figure 2, and in the other end recess when the work isiof maximum thickness. It is thus ,possible to adjust the pressure-foot P toward llO date different thicknesses of Work. When the work is to be removed from the clamp the bar I is released from the hook M, Whereupon it is swung upwardly by the spring L into the position shoivn in Figure l, and the pressure foot P then falls by action of gravity out of its seat and into the bottom of the slot a.

It Will be observed that the adjustment of the pressure foot P to accommodate va rious thicknesses of Work is accomplished Without separating it from its supporting member 6, thereby preventing the misplacing or loss of any of the parts and insuring a minimum amount of time being consumed in making the adjustment. It will also be noted that the adjustment of the pres-sure' foot i-s made With a minimum movement of the pressure foot longitudinally of the support I. Preferably the underside of the slot l is substantially parallel to the seri-es of seats 8 in the upper side of the slot and -thus inclined to the horizontal, so that when the pressure foot P drops by gravity its pin 3 will automatically position in one end of the slot. rPhus the operator in adjusting the pressure foot always moves it in the same direction, and as it is easier to push the pressure foot away from him in making such adjustment the slot preferably inclines toward the front end of the clamp.

While I have shown the pressure foot attachment embodying certa-in details of construction, for illustrative purposes, it Will be understood that many modifications and changes can be made in the details of the attachment Without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. The attachment can be vused on other types of clamps, and I Wish to be understood as not limiting myself except as required by the following claims when construed in the light of the prior art.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is:

1. rThe combination With a clamp having a work supporting body, and a pressure foot rod, 'of a pressure foot to engage Work on said body, and a support on said rod for permanently supporting said pressure foot and having a plurality of seats to selectively receive said pressure foot to accommodate work of different thicknesses While so permanently supported.

2. The combination with a clamp having a Work supporting body, of a pressure foot to engage work on said body, a support for said pressure foot having a slot therein formed with a plurality of seats, and means in said slot to mount said pressure foot on said support, said means being adapted to selectively engage any of said seats to adjust said pressure foot for accommodating work of diferent thicknesses.

3. The combination with a clamp having a Work supporting body, of a pressure foot to engage Work on said body, a support for said pressure foot having a plurality of seats to selectively receive said pressure foot to accommodate Work of different thicknesses, and means for mounting said pressure foot on said support to automatically by action of gravity release itself from any of said seats When in idle position.

4. The combination With a clamp having a Work supporting body, of a pres-sure foot to engage Work on said body, and a support for said pressure foot having a plurality of seats to selectively receive said pressure foot to accommodate work of different thicknesses, -said support also having means for automatically moving said pressure foot when idle toward one end of the clamp.

5. The combination With a clamp having a Work supporting body, of a pressure foot to engage Work on saidbody, a support for said pressure foot having a slot therein inclined with respect to said body and formed with a plurality of seats in its upper side, and means for mounting said foot in said slot to selectively engage any of said seats.

6. rThe combination With a clamp having a Work supporting body, of a channelshaped pres-sure foot having a pin connecting the iianges thereof substantially centrally of the length of said foot, and a support.

for said foot having a Vslot to receive said pin and a plurality of seats to selectively receive said pin to adjust said foot to accom modate Work of various thicknesses.

7. rihe combination With a clamp having a Work supporting body and a pressure foot supporting rod pivotally mounted to swing toward and from said body, of a pressure foot, and a supporting member mounted on said bar to permanently support .said foot and formed with a .plurality of seats to selectively receive said foot When the same is in operative position, said supporting member being also formed to permit said foot to automatically by action of gravity disengage itself from all of said seats when said supportingrod is swung away from said body. Y

,8. The combination With a clamp having a Work supporting body and a pressure foot supporting bar pivotally mounted to swing toward and from saidy body, of a pressure foot, a supporting member mounted on said bar and formed With an inclined slot provided With a plurality of seats in its upper side, and means for permanently supporting said foot in said slot to selectively engage any of said seats forclamping and to automatically disengage said foot from all of said .seats when idle and move it toward one end of the slot.

RAYMOND W. BUaNs.. 

